


You're My Lifeline

by TheStoryVerse



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor AU, Attempted Kidnapping, BAMF Keith (Voltron), If you've ever read @ackerchou's au, Keith is actually a sweetheart, Lance and Keith are super close and I love them, Multi, light Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-14 23:31:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20609141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStoryVerse/pseuds/TheStoryVerse
Summary: Lance grimaced to himself as he slipped around the corner of an alley and into a darker part of the street, bundled up against the crisp winter chill.  A few cars flicked past.  He didn’t like coming this way, the streets were dirty and the buildings along the sidewalk constantly left everything in deep shadow.  Lance shuddered.  Way too creepy.  But what choice did he have?  Shiro’s already going to kill him for being late, and he's only a few streets from the studio.  Lance sighed and pulled his jacket tighter around him.  He didn’t notice the hands reaching out from the shadows until they’d already grabbed him.





	You're My Lifeline

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ravengranger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravengranger/gifts).

> The title is from the song Street Fight by Smallpools
> 
> I wrote this ages ago. I haven't edited it since. Yolo.
> 
> A scene for @ackerchou's Actor AU
> 
> My first time writing an action scene. I am learning not to hate my writing. It's a slow process.

Lance cut quickly down a side street, determined to shave off as much time as possible. It had been an exhausting day of filming for Season 2 of their television show, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and they’d only been released for a small break half an hour ago. Well, by now about an hour ago. Lance was really late. He’d just gone to get some Jamba Juice from their favorite cafe. How was he supposed to know the lines were going to be so bad?!

Lance grimaced to himself as he slipped around the corner of an alley and into a darker part of the street, bundled up against the crisp winter chill. A few cars flicked past. He didn’t like coming this way, the streets were dirty and the buildings along the sidewalk constantly left everything in deep shadow. Lance shuddered. Way too creepy. But what choice did he have? Shiro’s already going to kill him for being late, and he's only a few streets from the studio_. _ Lance sighed and pulled his jacket tighter around him. He didn’t notice the hands reaching out from the shadows until they’d already grabbed him.

*****

Shiro let out a long-suffering sigh as he sat in a chair at the edge of the set, watching Pidge and Hunk run through their lines for the cameras, “He is so late.”

Keith shifted back and forth on his feet next to him. “Yeah, but he’s probably not messing around, he knows better than that. The lines might’ve been long.”

Shiro rolled his eyes but let a slight smile slip through. “Or he met a couple of fan girls who just HAD to have their pictures taken with the great and fabulous Lahnce.” Shiro was grinning now, exaggerating his words and gesturing with a mischievous light in his eyes.

Keith snorted, smiling. “Well in that case I should swing down and rescue him.”

“Are you sure? You’ll be fine on your own?”

“Of course. I’m betting he’s taking the shortcut to get back to the studio as fast as possible. I don’t have a scene coming up for about half an hour so I should be back with plenty of time.” Keith grabbed his jacket, heading towards the exit.

Allura shot a smile towards Keith’s retreating form as she walked up to Shiro. “Stay safe!”

Keith turned his head, holding up his hand in farewell and flashing her a smile before the door swung shut behind him.

Allura smiled fondly, clasping her hands in front of her. “Keith’s come so far out of his shell! It’s great that he feels comfortable going places in the city alone like that.”

Shiro just raised his eyebrows at her and leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face, “Yep. I’m one proud space dad.”

Allura rolled her eyes and sighed, knocking Shiro’s chair with her foot so he slipped a little with a yelp. “Well they both better get back soon. The producer looks like he’s going to pop a vein.”

*****

Lance let out a strangled yelp as hands clamped down on his left arm, twisting it behind him and another slapped over his mouth, cutting off his cries. He struggled furiously, kicking over to the side and swinging his other fist to where he felt the man standing and tried to bite the hand that was covering his mouth. _ Crow his hand tasted awful! Where had his fingers been? _ Lance’s face twisted in disgust, trying to calm the streaks of terror jumping through his heart. He heard an _ Oof! _ as a well-placed kick finally connected somewhere on the man, loosening the grip he had on Lance enough for him to squirm free.

Lance yelled for help as he pelted away down the street. His eyes widened as he glanced back. _ That guy was huge! _ The man who’d grabbed him was broad and seemed to be made of muscle. He was dressed in black sweats and a grubby blue t-shirt. His face was obscured a matted beard and his overgrown hair was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail. Lance put on an extra burst of speed, screaming once more, as his attacker lurched forward seconds behind him. He'd barely gone a few steps when he slammed directly into another wall of a man. Something hard connected with the right side of Lance’s face and he went down.

Lance tumbled to the ground, hands clutching his stinging eye and cheek just as his previous assailant reached him. Both men grabbed Lance, pulling him up and back towards the street. He screamed once again and kicked out with all his might. One man twisted both of Lance’s arms behind his back as they half carried, half dragged him backwards. There was a burning pain in one of Lance’s shoulders as his arms wrenched behind him and he cried out again before he was cut off by a filthy gray cloth that was shoved into his mouth.

Lance twisted and his eyes widened even more in terror, pupils dilating as he saw the beat up black van the men were dragging him towards, doors open and waiting for them. His heart was in his mouth and it was racing so face he couldn’t believe he hadn’t passed out yet. He cried out desperately against the gag. They were on the sidewalk about five feet from the van when a horrified voice rang out cutting through the sounds of the struggle, “Lance!”

Lance looked on in shock as he saw Keith darting towards them, face hard and a look in his eyes Lance had never seen before. Keith brandished his prop knife at the men as he neared Lance and one of them let go of him, stepping forward. Lance tried to cry out a warning around his gag, fighting harder despite the burning pain in his arm and face now that he wasn’t being held as tightly.

The other man closed in on Keith, his focus on the knife in Keith’s hand. As Keith charged, he clamped Keith’s knife hand in his own, dragging Keith forward and around him. He was so focused on the perceived threat that he failed to register Keith’s feet sweeping underneath him until he was already tumbling down. Keith moved like lightning then, swinging his elbow down and connecting it with the man’s jaw as he fell, then slamming his heel as hard as he could into the man’s ribs. He hit the cement with a crack and groan, releasing Keith’s wrist. Keith didn’t give his attacker a moment to get his bearings before he jumped and slammed his knee down into the man’s skull, knocking him out. Keith winced, his wrist and knuckles red and already showing signs of bruising.

He heard an angry curse and Keith quickly rounded on the man who was holding Lance and headed for him at a run, eyes blazing. The man threw Lance into the ground and leaped at Keith, bellowing in rage. Lance yanked the gag out of his mouth with a gasp and shot to the side as quickly as he could, away from the street, the car, and the fight.

The last man barreled at Keith who met him head on. Instead of matching the man’s brawn Keith used his momentum and size against him, lifting and throwing the man up and over his own head. Keith whipped around and charged. Lance cried out a fearful warning as assailant quickly spun around, fist connecting with Keith’s jaw. The blow snapped Keith’s head to the side with a harsh crack. He staggered a little, slightly dazed. The man took Keith’s momentary distraction as an opportunity to slam his own head into Keith’s forehead, knocking him down.

Lance staggered to his feet, moving towards the fight, desperate to help as the man lifted Keith up by his right arm. Keith’s legs shot out around the man’s right leg and he pulled, causing him to trip backwards and let go of Keith’s arm. The man surged forward for a punch, but Keith stepped to his assailant’s side, right leg connecting with the man's own as his right arm came up underneath the his outstretched fist. Before the assailant could react, Keith’s arm curled around his neck, pulling the man down as his right leg swept him off balance. Keith plowed the man into the ground and crouched over his stunned form. He punched the brute’s face as hard as he could, knocking the man out, before leaping back away from him.

Keith spun around, eyes wildly searching for- “Lance!” Keith’s eyes alighted on his terrified friend who stood halfway between where he’d been crouched by the wall and where Keith had been fighting, mouth agape. Lance was slightly hunched over, right arm clutching his left shoulder and his left arm curled protectively in front of him. He was breathing hard, and his eyes kept darting frantically between Keith and the two men. An ugly bruise was already developing on his cheek and there was some slight swelling around his eye.

Keith ran up to Lance, stopping in front of him. His hands gently reached up, one to turn Lance’s face so he could see the bruising more clearly while the other lingered hesitantly over Lance’s injured shoulder, close but not touching. “Lance? Are you ok?”

Lance took in a shaky breath smiling quiveringly at Keith, “Of course. It’s not every day that you get to be saved by the Red Paladin.” He tried to flash Keith his signature grin to dispel Keith’s stress over him.

Lance was attempting to play off the situation, keeping his tone light and cracking jokes, but Keith could see from the dilation in Lance’s pupils and the way his smile didn’t reach his eyes that he was in shock. Keith gave Lance a comforting smile and began guiding him down the sidewalk, trying to move quickly but without startling Lance further. “Come on, let’s get inside the studio. We can tell Shiro, call the police, and get you checked out from there, okay?”

“More like call an ambulance! Jeez Karate Kid what did you do to them?” Lance laughed lightly but pressed closer to Keith, stride speeding up as they passed the street and came up to the studio entrance. By the time they arrived and Keith pulled the door open, Lance practically flew in, Keith right behind him.

“Shiro! Allura! I need you, now!” Keith barked, gripping Lance’s arm gently and steering him at a slight run towards the set.

At the call, their friends and several crew members came running up to them. Shiro let out a shocked exclamation and Allura hurried forward, taking Lance from Keith and guiding him to a chair. Hunk and Pidge sprinted down from where they were in the middle of a take at the commotion, followed quickly by the director who was demanding to know what everyone was doing.

“Keith, what on earth-?” Shiro exclaimed as Lance sat down.

“Lance was attacked.”

“Allura what’s going on?” Hunk asked. He slammed to a stop for a brief second, gasping in dismay at seeing his best friend hunched over and bruised. Hunk shot forward with a cry, hovering frantically around Lance and waving his hands and arms all around his friend.

“Lance, can you tell us what happened?” Shiro asked gently, placing a comforting hand on the shoulder Lance wasn’t clutching as Allura fretted over him. Hunk and Pidge hovered nervously behind Allura while Keith stood protectively behind Lance.

Lance took a deep breath, “I- I was walking back to the studio, taking a shortcut because I knew I was late- sorry Shiro the lines I didn’t mean to-”

“Shh, it’s okay Lance, it’s fine, just tell us what happened.” Shiro prompted with a smile.

“I was almost to the studio when- when this man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me. I fought and I kicked out. I managed to get away from him but this other man appeared and punched me, knocking me to the ground. They grabbed me and they were hauling me away to this, to this van. They gagged me, I- I tried to fight, but I couldn’t. They were just too strong. Then Keith just appeared out of nowhere and he knocked them out. They attacked him and I got away and then Keith was fighting and one guy managed to hit him. But Keith took care of it. Then he helped me and we came here.”

One of the directors suddenly spoke up making everyone jump. They hadn’t noticed him before. “We’ll call the police. Are the men still there?”

Keith nodded. “They should be, but they could have woken up by now. I was just focusing on stunning them as long as possible and getting Lance out of there.”

“Mr. McClain, do you have any idea who these men were or why they might have been after you?”

Lance looked slightly sick, he hadn’t thought that he might have been an _ intentional _target. He opened his mouth to respond when Allura cut him off. “Wait until the police get here. Then we can get everything in full detail without Lance having to relive it repeatedly.”

Lance huffed indignantly, “Honestly Allura, I’m fine. There’s no need to fuss too much.”

Allura glanced at him, unconvinced. “Still, it’s better that we wait.”

The cast settled around Lance as they waited for the police to come and take Lance and Keith’s statements. When the police arrived they took Lance’s side of the story first before talking to Keith. A paramedic checked them both over, cleaning and patching up their bruises and Lance’s tender shoulder as they recalled the story. While the officers questioned Lance, Shiro stood just behind him, one hand resting comfortingly on Lance’s good shoulder. Keith had pulled up a chair and was sitting on Lance’s right, his hand resting on Lance’s forearm. Pidge was on the floor curled up and leaning against his left leg. Hunk occupied a chair on his other side and was rubbing soothing circles into Lance’s back as he spoke to the officers.

There was a tense undercurrent to the room as both Keith and Lance spoke; especially when Lance mentioned how close the men had gotten to getting him into that van. None of the cast could help but think of what might have happened if Keith hadn’t shown up when he did. But they quickly banished the thought. It was too painful.

“Alright. Williams picked up the men and found the van at the scene. We may need to take additional statements, and we’ll have you do identity verifications as soon as possible. The department will be in touch.” The officer flipped his notebook closed and eyed Lance. “You were pretty lucky kid. I’d suggest none of you go anywhere alone for a little while, especially you. We don’t know if this was planned or random, but better safe than sorry.”

Lance shot the officer a shaky grin before swinging his arm over Keith’s shoulders and pulling him close, eliciting a startled squeak from Keith. “That’s okay, Officer. It seems I’ve got a great bodyguard right here! My own personal Bruce Lee.” He snickered.

Keith flushed, uncomfortable at the sudden attention, but he readily affirmed Lance’s words and shot his best friend a small smile. “Oh yeah, no way am I letting you out of my sight after this.”

The rest of the cast nodded vigorously. Allura turned to everyone as the officers left, already discussing how they would handle going places in groups from now on.

*****

Weeks passed and the cast and crew made good on their word not to let Lance or anyone else travel alone for a while. Shiro, Allura, and Coran made sure everyone went places in pairs at the very least. They were especially particular about Lance, who’d already been attacked, and Pidge, who was the youngest (though having to be “chaperoned” and getting “fussed over” tended to incur some rather venomous responses from her). Coran was enraged when he heard what had happened, and practically doted on Lance for a while. Going out in pairs was typically only when the cast couldn’t get away from shoots all at the same time. The voltron crew generally loved hanging out together, so it wasn’t too big of a change from before. And, Keith made good on his word to guard Lance.

The first few nights after the incident, Keith had taken to sleeping over in Lance’s trailer, like Lance had done for him when Keith had fractured his foot. Keith would spend the nights on Lance’s couch, offering comfort and company in order to chase the nightmares away. When Lance went out, Keith tagged along as often as Hunk, perhaps even more so. They were inseparable.

Lance sought out Keith or Shiro for comfort when struggling the first couple of days. They were also the ones who accompanied Lance to the police station to identity his would-be kidnappers the day after the incident. Shiro and Keith were given stern lectures from each member of the cast to keep an eye on Lance, and to tell them everything on pain of death once the three returned.

Lance got over his near-kidnapping pretty quickly, though he could still be jumpy. He enjoyed the extra company and attention, even if he thought his friends fussed a little too much sometimes. Lance’s injuries had healed up nicely, as had the bruises to Keith’s jaw and hands. Lance’s shoulder only had a mild sprain and Keith's wrist was wrapped to prevent any extra injuries to his tendons, but both were healing quickly. Coran said it was quite lucky that neither of them had been more seriously injured.

Lance had called his mother after the police left to inform her what had happened and to let her know that he was okay. After an enraged explosion of spanish that prompted a horrified exclamation from Lance (“_ Mom! _”), his mother had immediately flown down to where the studio was located in a whirlwind, demanding to see Lance and determined to follow through on seeing Lance’s would-be kidnappers locked up in jail. The cast heartily enjoyed Mrs. McClain’s energetic nature (and the homemade treats she often brought), although the motherly attentions and affections she directed towards Keith for rescuing her son often made him embarrassed. Keith spent the first few days of her visit beet red and stuttering around her or avoiding her attentions altogether. Lance, in response, gleefully spent his time making sure his mother was giving Keith enough “gratitude and affection”.

_ “Come on Keith,” Lance grinned throwing his arms around Keith, leaning on him. “Mom wants to take us out for lunch!” _

_ Keith groaned and hid his rapidly coloring face in his hands while Lance snickered. _

_ Shiro looked torn between smirking and sighing, but chose to take pity on Keith this time, “Leave him be Lance.” _

The press had a field day with the news. Articles and stories were posted for a week straight and the social media sites exploded. Both Lance and Keith received floods of fan mail and gifts, some nice and others odd, and all of which only served to embarrass Keith further, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the cast. Lance just grinned as he sat next to Keith, surrounded by his “space family”; all of them laughing and cooing their way through the fan mail. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending is crap, I apologize. I have extra scenes planned for the end that would make this better. I have no idea if/when I'll actually write them as I am a dysfunctional mess.
> 
> Potential Future Scenes Include:  
Keith going to Lance’s trailer to spend the night the first night and subsequent nights like Lance did for him when he broke his foot (just some good emotional h/c and cuddling).  
Lance calling his mother and her subsequent freakout and exclamations (in Spanish) and booking a plane to come see him RIGHT NOW.  
Police officers talking to Lance with Hunk, Keith, and Shiro there.  
Lance’s mom being on set and coddling Keith and generally being very Mrs. Weasley-esque.  
Fanmail rolling in and press stories; increased security and the main cast refusing to let anyone run around alone and how they'd handle everything.


End file.
